Remains Brave {New War Series Book 1}

Chapter 7: The Loving Story

September 10th, One

"Rem. Please wake up. Its okay. You're okay. I got you. Breathe..." Dak whispers, slightly rocking me back and forth in the bed. I come to with my face buried in his chest and I can feel is arms wrapped tightly around me. His shirt was wet, and I can't remember if it was tears or slobber that caused the damp spot. My cheeks are wet, so it must be tears. Why did I wake up crying?

"Don't cry," he whispers, and silently I hope my night terror wasn't loud enough for anyone else to hear. It was still dark, and from the light snoring I hear I can tell no effort to mobilize has ensued yet. I still in his embrace, signifying my consciousness.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. You didn't need to console me. Whatever the reason for my emotion is not important. I'm not weak," I whisper to his chest before daring a look up at his deeply telling eyes. Every time I look into them it's like he's reading my soul, a comforting yet terrifying feeling all in one.

"I know you're not weak. It was about your family. It's okay," he whispers.

"I'm sorry. You should be sleeping, and I woke you up. I don't need you to take care of me. I-"

"Don't apologize Rem. It was a dream. You can go back to sleep if you want," he replies. I shake my head but stay quietly positioned with my chest on his. It was nice to be close to someone like this. I sigh, and we both relax. After a few minutes I feel him start to run his fingers through my hair. Its soothing to feel that again. I miss it.

"We'll make it through this," he whispers. While I hope we do, for some reason I have the suspicion that things weren't going to be god for either of us soon. The days bring so much unknown, it seems damn near impossible for both of us to live. I'm playing "The Most Dangerous Game" with the feds, and I think I can only escape death so many times before it inevitably happens. I don't say this though. I just nod and concentrate on his heartbeat while I wait for the sun to come up. Today we would make it to Roanoke, ten days ahead of schedule. I'm not sure what our plan is after we visit the mayor, but I'll figure that out once we get there.

For the next few hours, I lay with him awake, consumed by my thoughts of the unknown territory we were going to face today. I normally try to keep from thinking too much about the next day, but for some reason I am feeling uneasy about the adventure we were about to set out for.

Dak's fingers entangled delicately in my hair is the only feeling that keeps me somewhat in the present, and the dreaded time ticking away makes his soothing efforts unsuccessful. My mind is engulfed in anxiety and the feeling of impending doom.

"You can relax. Everything will be fine. The mayor is a Mutt, we will be safe," he whispers to me. I nod, but nothing in my body relaxes at his words. Something just doesn't feel right.

"We're in the most danger outside of the city. Once we get to the inside limits of the city, the Mutt presence will keep any Benefactor activity at bay. Within a couple hours we'll be safer than we've been this entire track down here," he says. I shake my head.

"It's the city that scares me the most. What happens there is so unpredictable. Cameras are everywhere. No place is safe," I reply. He nods but doesn't say anything further. For the rest of the morning we lay there staring up at the ceiling. Faint footsteps from downstairs brings us to our feet at around quarter to nine. We are the only two awake. I probably slept two hours the entire night. Something just doesn't seem right about today.

"Can I talk to the two of you downstairs?" Vitz says to us as he reaches the top of the stairs.

"Yeah," I say, and Dak nods as we make our way over to the stairs. Vitz turns without another word to descend the stairs, and we follow shortly after.